Why have site hoarding? Safety, security and more

Site hoarding, why is it needed?

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 is the law that governs the obligations of anybody undertaking setting up a construction site. No work is permitted to take place on a site until a secure barrier is in place around the site. Such a barrier must enable enforcement of controlled entry to a site, in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons other than themselves or their employees are not exposed to risks to their health or safety. Why is site hoarding needed and not just a mesh panel fence?

… the HSE goes further, not just any old 2m barrier will do. In “city centre sites and residential areas” …”larger hoardings maybe appropriate”.

A key focus of the HSE’s guidance being to prevent children accessing sites they also advise “Keep gaps underneath the fence or gate as small as possible to stop anyone gaining access under the fence. Make sure children cannot get access through gaps under temporary fencing. On uneven ground gaps can be quite considerable if steps are not taken to level the surface”

Because Perimeters re-usable hoarding is made up of 50cm wide panels, the hoarding can be adjusted to more closely follow the contours of the ground than traditional hoarding that uses wider panels.

So there you have it as long as you can keep wandering members of the public and curious kids out, all’s well? Not really, operating a construction site also involves protecting the welfare of those working on the site. And welfare of any site also includes crime prevention.

Crime

According to a survey by The Chartered Institute of Building (Crime in the construction industry) theft (42.7%) and vandalism (42.8%) are the two construction site crimes mostly seen as common or very common, i.e. with monthly occurrences. Tools and building materials were the most likely items to be stolen, with 83% of respondents experiences these crimes. Opportunist third party criminals are thought to be responsible for theft of unattended plant. Graffiti and damage to the site were the most common forms of vandalism, experienced by three quarters, with comments indicating youths were mainly responsible, and the occurrence is highest in the urban areas.

Stop thieves stealing your plant

..and how site hoarding can prevent crime

According to the same survey, amongst the most effective (and very effective) security measures are: secure storage (84.8%) and heavy duty barriers and gates (67.3%), with both measures being seen as being more effective for security than criminal records checks (54.3%) or taking up references (56.9%). So physical security measures including effective barriers are seen as the most effective at preventing the most common crimes on construction site.

So site hoarding plays a key role in ensuring welfare of the public and crime prevention on constructions site. Hoarding can have an even more positive role, promoting the project that’s being undertaken.

Marketing the project

Construction project’s hoarding are often said to have “deemed consent” and don’t need planning permission to carry marketing graphics. The Town and Country Planning Regulations 2007, sets out precise conditions for non-residential projects marketing e.g. not more than 4.6m above ground, not in place for more than 3 years. Only residential projects always require planning permission for marketing. But whether or not a project requires planning consent, for the duration of the project it is key that the “The advertisement must be kept in a safe condition”. This means the marketing panels should stay fixed, but more importantly that the underlying hoarding the is secure.

As noted in the Temporary Works Forum Guidelines, timber composite boards’ (OSB, ply and particle boards) tendency to deteriorate when exposed to weather “limits the use of wood particleboard to short term hoardings in less exposed locations” . However Perimeters’ re-usable hoarding has no such issues. Perimeters re-usable hoarding is impermeable so doesn’t deteriorate no matter how wet they get or for how long. So a sites’ boundary stays protecting the public from the site’s activities and the site from nefarious intrusion by members of the public.

For the same reason, a reusable hoarding that stays true and doesn’t distort during the life of a project, Perimeters’ re-usable provides the perfect backing for marketing graphics. Whether di-bond panels, cutouts of full vinyl wraps, Perimeters provides a continuous surface to display your messages on.

Move from problem waste to sustainability

Finally the same Crime in the construction industry survey also noted that Illegal waste disposal was sited by over half respondent as an issue. For hoarding that means what happens after the project. With Perimeters that worry is gone, as 100% of Perimeters’ boards are either re-used or recycled. In short Perimeters re-usable hoarding ticks the sustainability box, unlike timber composite hoarding which ends up in landfill after a single project or even part way through longer projects.

So if your project needs hoarding, and it does, no other hoarding fulfils the needs better than Perimeters re-usable hoarding.

Our History

Since 2006 the Perimeters name has been associated with re-usable plastic site hoarding. Promoting re-use and reducing waste going to landfill, Perimeters helps its clients fulfil their environmental commitments, whilst enhancing their image and reducing costs and disruption over the lifetime of a site.

In March 2017, became a subsidiary of Topan Fencing. Perimeters will continue to operate independently focused on site hoarding and other temporary fencing. In May 2017, Perimeters moved its main base of operations to Exeter to serve growing demand throughout the South West, but we maintain facilities near Liskeard and Saltash.

Our Products

Our kentledge block system, allows hoarding to be positioned, and repositioned, in areas where surface, or subsurface, disruption is not an option. The Temporary Works Forum: Hoarding a Guide to Good Practice, forms the bedrock of our designs.

In areas where in-ground installations are optimal our designs and materials are chosen with their specific locations in mind, ensuring even in the most exposed coastal locations with poor soil, our installations stay fixed for the duration.

Alongside hoarding we can provide tree protection, Heras fencing, vehicle and pedestrian gates and all the other temporary fencing required to keep your site safe.

Our Vision

Perimeters looks forward to working with clients
who share our vision that better site protection needn't cost the earth.